Why Don't You Get a Horse, Sam Adams?

Author:Jean Fritz

ISBN 13:9780399234019

ISBN 10:399234012

Edition:5th pr

Publisher:Putnam Juvenile

Publication Date:1974-11-21

Format:Hardcover

Pages:48

List Price:$16.99

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In early America, when all the men wore ruffled shirts and rode grandly on horseback, one man refused to follow suit. He was the rebel leader Sam Adams, a plainspoken gent who scorned ruffles, refused to ride a horse, and had little regard for the King. This lively biography is a nice, personal look at a leader and his times.

Children's Literature

Fritz seizes a curious personality trait and plenty of anecdotes to breathe energy and interest into Samuel Adams' political life and exploits in this delightful story. Throughout the tale, Adams resists all urging to be like the rest of the community and ride a horse. He steadfastly continues to walk or ride in a carriage when he must travel outside of Boston for the first time, and even when he must make a fast get-away from the British. Drawing from a letter written by John Adams describing the event, Fritz retells the clever series of arguments that John used to finally persuade his cousin to learn to ride a horse. Sam Adams' dog Queue gets a starring role, and there is even a bit of important American history mixed in. Hyman's drawings make Adams and several other Founding Fathers seem larger than life, until trouble with the British Army cuts them down to size. This latest reissue of the 1974 title features new cover illustrations by David Small. Reviewer: Heather N. Kolich